


Sleep Without Fear

by back2the_ocean



Series: Bedtime Blues [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Dreams and Nightmares, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, Good Sibling Vanya Hargreeves, Hargreeves Children (Umbrella Academy) Need a Hug, Hugging, Literal Sleeping Together, Nightmares, Platonic Cuddling, Sleep, Soft Ben Hargreeves, Soft Klaus Hargreeves, Soft Vanya Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26619475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/back2the_ocean/pseuds/back2the_ocean
Summary: Number Four, Number Six, and Number Seven sleep together. The nightmares go away.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Grace Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Grace Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Grace Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves
Series: Bedtime Blues [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936480
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Sleep Without Fear

It was a couple of weeks after the Nightmare Night as Number Six and Number Seven had taken to calling it and Six still wearing the cast that led him to be there to comfort Seven. The next morning they had been curled around each other, Mom gently shaking them awake. She hadn’t said anything about what she had seen, not even mentioning it to Father. Both Six and Seven were grateful knowing that Father was against the other children interacting with Seven. 

Something had changed between the two of them though, Six more likely to turn to her when in need of companionship or comfort, although he was careful to keep it from the eyes of Father. Seven always looked so bewildered when Six wandered into her room during free time or sat next to her during their reading hours. It made Six’s heart hurt a little to think about.

The seven of them were just leaving the dinner table when the mission alarms started blaring again. Both Six and Seven stepped to the side, allowing the other five siblings to rush by them to their rooms to put on their uniforms.

“Number Four! You will be staying here. Your performance previously was deplorable.” Father’s voice thundered over the sound of four kids running up the stairs, Four having stopped as soon as Father first said his name. 

The three of them slowly slid back into the dining room, knowing to stay out of the way so that the Academy and Father could leave. It only took a few minutes, Father having had them train in dressing fast last week. 

Soon enough it was just Four, Six, and Seven alone with Mom and Pogo. Pogo took one look at them and said, “I’ll be in my rooms for the evening. Please keep quiet tonight as to not disturb me.”

Six took that to mean as out of sight, out of mind.

Mom swept by them, running a hand through their hair, and reminded Seven that she still had to practice some more on the violin. Four was being uncharacteristically quiet as he watched Six and Seven turn together, heading towards the bedrooms. The two of them made it to the end of the hallway before they turned toward Four, waiting. 

His frown disappeared and he started to beam as he skipped down to meet them at the stairs. “And what’s on the agenda for tonight?”

“I was going to grab a book and read in Seven’s room while she practiced. You could join us?” Six asked Four before he thought to see if Seven was ok with it. When Four made a face but reluctantly agreed to the plan, Six was pleased to see a small smile grow on Seven’s lips before she hid behind her long hair.

“You could…” Seven spoke quietly, still hiding, “you could bring some arts and crafts? Mom might let you grab something from the classroom if you ask about extra practice…” she trailed off even quieter. 

Four tilted his head thoughtfully but swiftly turned on a heel, bellowing for Mom. Seven jumped a little, not used to how loud Four could be, not having the exposure that Six did. The two of them continued on their way up to the bedrooms where they briefly split to their own rooms before Six joined Seven. 

They had something like a routine now and Six made his way to his spot on her bed. They were both getting comfortable in their positions when they heard Four crashing his way up the stairs. They knew when he got to their floor because he tripped on the uneven stair at the top, always forgetting about it. It only briefly slowed his progress and he hurtled his way through Seven’s door. 

When Four finally calmed down, they saw that his hands were full of paper and coloring pencils. Four saw that Six was sitting on the bed and Seven was setting up her music stand in front of her closet and he moved closer to the bed but dropped to the floor. He spread out his collection, rearranging them to some sort of plan before he looked up at Six and Seven.

“Well?” 

Six hid a smile behind his new book, The Fellowship of the Ring, and got more comfortable. Seven was frozen in her spot until Four’s attention was stolen by his art supplies again. It was then that she was able to move, bringing her instrument up to her shoulder. 

The beginning was very very rough but soon Seven forgot about her new audience. SIx was used to it  — even now, he still made her nervous to play. Four was winching occasionally but even he knew to hide it from Seven. 

They spent quite a bit of time together, Seven’s song lifting their moods. Four was making some sort of bright mess that might have been a tree...or a boat. Maybe. Six was getting more and more upset about the stupid book he was reading. This was supposed to be a groundbreaking, genre-defining, immersive world-building, conlang masterpiece? Okay, maybe. But a compelling read? Not a chance.

Maybe it would get better?

Their trance was broken when Mom knocked on the door, “it’s time for bed, children.”

They only blinked at her owlishly for a couple of seconds before they all groaned. Six didn’t want to leave and it looked like Four didn’t want to either, nor did it look like Seven wanted them gone. 

“Now now. I already let you stay up past your bedtime. Chop chop. On your feet, you need to brush your teeth and put on your pajamas. Five minutes and you better be in your bed,” Mom swept out of Seven’s room, her heels clicking down the hall.

Both Four and Six slowly gathered their stuff and left Seven’s room, shutting the door behind them.

Mom came for them exactly five minutes later and tucked them all into bed. 

* * *

Seven jerked awake, the creaking of her door sounding out horribly. She heard Four curse softly under his breath, something he had taken to doing lately  — a small rebellion against Father. 

“Four?” Seven spoke as loudly as she dared, not wanting to wake either Six or alert Mom that something was happening on their floor. 

“Darling sister! Think I could stay here tonight?” Four tried to sound like normal but there was a thread of terror weaved into his words. When Seven heard that feeling, she moved over so that there was room in the bed for Four. He scurried over, somehow avoiding making any other noise, and swung over her to lay against the wall. 

Seven crowded against him, knowing that Four liked the physical contact when his powers were acting up. Seven thought it was because it let him know that he was talking to a real person, not another ghost trying to torment him. 

When they were both finally comfortable, Four heaved a deep sigh and melted into Seven’s bed. She didn’t know how, there was a giant lump right on the edge of the bed closet to the wall.

It was only minutes later that Seven heard her door open again. She shifted to look over her shoulder and saw Six standing in the small gap he had opened the door. He kept shifting from foot to foot, not sure if he could enter her room again. Seven reached behind her, lifting the edge of her blanket. When Six started her way, Seven smushed up against Four to make room for everyone. Her bed wasn’t the biggest but the three of them were slight and didn’t take up much room.

Seven thought that the contact with another person might do them some good anyway. 

Four took a deep breath, tucking Seven under his chin, pushing himself farther back into her wall. Six had reached her bed then and carefully climbed in. Four reached out to him and dragged both Seven and Six closer.

Seven just let herself be moved.

Eventually, the three of them were situated and comfortable on the bed, curled up with each other under Seven’s small blanket. Six was carefully keeping his cast away from his siblings while Four was somehow starfishing across the bed while still against the wall.

It took only a few minutes for them to fall asleep, sharing warmth and physical touch with each other. 

* * *

Grace hummed faintly as she moved to wake her children. She had turned off the alarm, allowing them to sleep in a couple of minutes and giving her a chance to gently wake them up. She knew that both Number Four and Number Six had issues with the loud alarm and while Mr. Hargreeves was away, she liked to make things easier for them.

She started with Number Seven, wanting to give her daughter a few extra minutes in the bathroom while she had it to herself but she found a wonderful surprise there.

Chaotic Number Four, calm Number Six, and quiet Number Seven were all laying atop one another, sleeping peacefully. Grace almost didn’t want to wake them  — she knew all of them had trouble with nightmares but Mr. Hargreeves would be home soon with her other children and the three would be harshly punished for breaking the rules.

She slowly shook them awake, leading her sons to their rooms, while leading Seven to the bathroom with a change of clothes. 

“Come now, darlings. It’s time to get up for the day. I’ve made a big breakfast for all of you. And it’s all easy lessons this morning. Let’s go.” She was mellow, leading her stumbling boys back to their bedrooms. 

She left the bedroom floor, listening to some of her children getting ready for the day. Something within her was warm, after seeing the sight of them comforting each other.

She frowned gently. She’d have to have Mr. Hargreeves check over her coding when he got home.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm gonna give the baby hargreeves all the love they deserve.
> 
> the lord of the rings section came from a hilarious discussion between me and friends on discord. 
> 
> come talk to me at my tumblr dcksdrgsdebutantes to talk and to see my character moodboards. also I have a tua discord - give me a shout if you'd like to join


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